Bashi-bazouk

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For other uses, see Bashi-bazouk (disambiguation)}}}.

Black 'Bashi-Bazouk Chieftain' by Jean-Leon Gerome, French. Oil, 1881.

Black Bashi Bazouk by Jean-Leon Gerome, French. 1869

A bashi-bazouk or bashibazouk (Turkish başıbozuk, "damaged head", meaning "leadless", "disorderly") was an irregular soldier of the Ottoman army. They were noted for their lack of discipline.

Although Turkish armies always contained bashi-bazouk adventurers as well as regular soldiers, the strain on Ottoman feudal system caused mainly by the Empire's wide expanse required heavier reliance on irregular soldiers. Noted for their lack of discipline, the bashibozouk were a species of irregular troops employed by the Turks. They were armed and maintained by the government, but did not receive pay and did not wear uniforms or distinctive badges. They could fight either mounted or dismounted, chiefly the latter, but were incapable of undertaking major military operations, because of their lack of discipline. Their uncertain temper occasionally made it necessary for the Turkish regular troops to disarm them by force, but they were often useful in the work of reconnaissance and in outpost duty.

Ottoman army consisted of :

Sultan's household troops, called Kapıkulu, which are salaried, most notable being janissary corps.
Provincial soldiers, which were fiefed (turkish Tımarlı), comparable to knights, most important being Timarli Sipahi (lit. "fiefed cavalry") and their retainers(called cebelu lit. armed, man-at-arms), but other kinds were also present.
Soldiers of subject, protectorate, allied states. (Most important being Crimean Khan's)
Bashi-bazouk usually did not receive regular salary and lived off loot.

Everything being perfect an Ottoman Commander-in-Chief would muster hundreds of thousands of soldiers and lead an excursion into Austria or Iran, whichever posed most threat, capturing/extorting enough land/cash to cover the expenses of the next campaign in the process. In reality the actual amount of soldiers making it to the battle field were one order of magnitude less. On the eve of battle an Ottoman commander would tap any source of manpower he saw fit. Hiring mercenaries was one of them. The hiring process was one of a free market, prices determined by negotiation between the mercenary troop leader and an Ottoman commander. Prices were affected, expectedly, by the quality and quantity of mercenary troop as well as commanders necessity. The bargain was later turned into a written contract. Some of these documents survive today, showing small mercenary leaders obtaining very high requitals.

The bashi-bazouk were notorious for being brutal and undisciplined, thus giving the term its second, colloquial meaning of "undisciplined bandit" in many languages.

Their usage was abandoned by the end of the 18th century.

The term "bashibozouk" has also been used for a mounted force, existing in peacetime in various provinces of the Ottoman empire, which performed the duties of gendarmerie.

Bashi-bazouk

Further reading